Wire payoff apparatus



Dec. 18, 1956 E. D. HANSON 2,774,548

WIRE PAYOFF APPARATUS Filed Feb. 4, 1955 /a- A? l I /9 *1 i I I I2 I l l i l I I4 56 6/ l0 l4 6o 64 v |l 6/ F IG. 3

INVENTOR E. D. HANSON ATTORNEY United States Patent WIRE PAYOFF APPARATUS Estyle D. Hanson, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 4, 1953, Serial No. 335,124

3 Claims. (Cl. 242-128) This invention relates to apparatus for paying ofi wire from reels, and more particularly to apparatus for uninterruptedly paying ofi wire from a plurality of separate reels.

Copper-clad steel electrical conductors employed in the communications industry may be manufactured by electrodepositing copper onto continuous steel wires being advanced at a high rate of speed through a series of electroplating cells. The steel wires utilized in this manufacturing operation are customarily wound on a plurality of separate, unconnected reel-s. The wire on these reels must be joined together end-to-end while a succession of the reels is being supplied to a payoff device by which the wire is unreeled and fed continuously to the electroplating cells.

A typical payoff device includes a pair of arbors for accommodating two reels of wire, so that the wire may be unwound from one of the reels while a full reel is be ing placed on the other arbor. At the same time, the leading end of the wire on the full reel may be joined to the trailing end of thewire on the reel being unwound. In the past, considerable difliculty has been experienced with tangles and breaks occurring in the wire at such payofi devices.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for paying off wire from reels.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for uninterruptedly paying off wire from a plurality of separate reels.

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention may include a plurality of arbors for supporting reel-s of wire, guide means for guiding a wire being payed off from one of the reels, means for alternately shifting the guide means from vone arbor to another arbor, and means for actuating the shifting means whenever a reel being unwound becomes exhausted.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of apparatus forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan elevation view of apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a control switch forming a part of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawing, a horizontal platform is provided with a pair of vertically mounted arbors 12-12 having a pair of cylindrical bases 14-14. The arbors 12-12 are designed to fit easily into the hubs of a plurality of reels, such as reels 16 and 17, on which wires 18 and 19, respectively, are wound. When wire is to be unwound from the reels 16 and 17, the hubs of the reels are placed over the arbors 12-12 and the reels are allowed to rest on the tops of the bases 14-14 of the arbors. In this position, the axes of the reesl 16 and 17 are parallel and are conveniently spaced apart in the same horizontal and vertical planes. The reels 16 .and

2,774,548 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 ice 17 are secured to the arbors 12-12 by a pair of bolts 20-20 in cooperation with a pair of discs 22-22, which engage the upper ends of the reels 16 and 17. The arbors 12-12 are secured rigidly to the platform 10, and neither the arbors nor the reels 16 and 17 rotate while wire is being unwound from the reels.

It is evident that when the reels 16 and 17 are mounted in this manner on the arbors 12-12, there is ordinarily a possibility that some of the convolutions of the wires 18 and 19 may fall downwardly due to the action of gravity. When this happens, tangles of wire may result.

.In the case of steel wires, such tangles may be prevented by making the arbors 12-12 magnetic so that all the convolutions of the steel wires will be held tightly in their coiled position and prevented from falling downwardly. This may be accomplished by incorporating permanent magnets into the arbors 12-12 or by providing electromagnets which may be energized when needed.

At a point spaced equidistantly from the arbors 12-12, the horizontal platform 10 is provided with a vertical pedestal 24. Near the upper end of the pedestal 24 one end of a sweep arm 26 is pivotally secured. The other end of the sweep arm 24 is provided with a rotatable sheave 28 for guiding wire drawn from either one of the reels 16 and 17.

The pivotal mounting of the sweep arm 26 allows the sheave 28 to be swung in an are centered on the axis of the pedestal 24, between a position in which the sheave 28 is directly above the axial center of the reel 16 to a position directly above the axial center of the reel 17. As viewed in Fig. 1, the arm 26 is movable in a horizontal plane between its position shown in full lines and its position shown in dotted lines. The sweep arm 26 is secured to a sleeve 30 which is mounted rotatably on a shaft 32 secured to the upper end of and in axial alignment with the pedestal 24.

When the wire 18 is being withdrawn from the reel 16 it is guided by the sheave 28 to a second sheave 38 mounted rotatably on the upper end of the shaft 32. From the sheave 38 the wire advances through a tube 40 from which the wire passes to a continuously operating machine (not shown), such as a series of electroplating cells. When the sweep arm 26 is so positioned that the sheave 28 is directly above the reel 17, the wire 19 being taken from the reel 17 travels around the sheaves 28 and 38 and through the tube 40 in a manner similar to the wire 18.

The swinging movement of the sweep arm 26 is accomplished by actuating an air cylinder 42 having a reciprocable piston 44, which is pivotally connected by a pin 46 to an extension 48 of the sweep arm 26. The extension 48 is secured to the side of the sleeve 30 opposite to the side on which the sweep arm 26 is mounted. The air cylinder 42 isactuated by means of a solenoid operated, four-way valve 56 having an inlet pipe 51 for admitting compressed air and also having an exhaust pipe 52 connected thereto. Opposite ends of the cylinder 42 are connected to the valve 50 by a pair of pipes 54-54. An electric cable 55 leads from the solenoid of the solenoid operated valve 50 to an actuating switch 56 and to a source of electric current (not shown). The cylinder 42 and the valve 50 are mounted on a panel 58 which extends vertically upward from the horizontal platform 10, and the switch 56 is mounted on the platform 10 midway between the arbors 12-12.

The solenoid operated, four-way valve 50 is a standard type of commercially obtainable valve, designed to control the influx and efilux of compressed air through the pipes 54-54 to make the piston 44 reciprocate when the switch 56 is actuated. The switch 56 is a standard type of push-on push-oft switch. When a button 60 is pushed momentarily, the switch 56 closes and energizes the solenoid of the solenoid operated valve 50,

thereby moving the piston 44 in one direction. The switch 56 remains closed until the button 60 is again pushed momentarily, whereupon the switch opens and de-energizes the solenoid of the solenoid operated valve 50, thereby causing the piston 44 to move in the opposite direction. The efiEect of momentarily pushing the button 60 twice in this manner, is to swing the sweep arm 26 through one complete cycle of back and forth motion, for example, to transfer the sheave 28 from a position directly over the reel 16 to a position directly over the reel 17 and then back to its original position. The length of the arcuate path in which the sheave 28 travels is limited by the length of stroke of the piston 44.

The moment the supply of wire on either the reel 16 or the reel 17 becomes exhausted, the switch S6 is actuated automatically to shift the sweep arm 26 over to the other reel, and the wire is then taken from that other reel while the empty reel is being replaced with a full one. The movement of a section 61 of the wire which extends from the reel 16 to the reel 17 actuates the switch 56 at the proper moment. While the wire 13 on the reel 16 is being unwound, the trailing end of the wire 18 on this reel is threaded through a switch actuator 62 and is welded to the leading end of the wire 19 on the other reel 17. The welded ends of the wires are threaded through the actuator 62, which consists of a fixed deflector 64 (Fig. 3) and a pivoted arm 65 mounted near the base of the switch 56 and arranged to push the button 60 when the arm 65 is swung upwardly. Normally, the arm 65 is inclined with respect to a vertical side 66 of the switch 56, and the upper ends of the deflector 64 and the arm 65 intersect. When the welded ends of the wires constituting the section 61 are pulled upwardly through the intersection of the deflector 64 and the arm 65, which action occurs the moment the supply of wire on either one of the reels 16 and 17 becomes exhausted, the pivoted arm 65 pushes the button 60, thereby actuating the switch 56.

Uperation In the operation of the device, an uninterrupted supply of wire is taken continuously from a series of unconnected reels by alternately shifting back and forth from one reel, such as the reel 16, to another reel, such as the reel 17. A wire 18 being withdrawn from the reel 16 passes over the sheave 28 while the sweep arm 26 is positioned so that this sheave overhangs the reel 16. From the sheave 23 the wire passes around the sheave 33 and then through the tube 40 to the continuously operating machine (not shown) being supplied with wire, such as a series of cells in which copper is electrodeposited onto moving steel wires. While the wire is being unwound from the reel 16 in this manner, the trailing end of the wire 18 on this reel is welded to the leading end of the wire 19 on the reel 17, and the welded ends of the wires are threaded through the switch actuator 62 beneath the intersection of the deflector 64 and the pivoted arm 65.

At the moment the supply of wire on the reel 16 becomes exhausted, the section 61 of welded together wires extending from the reel 16 to' the reel 17 is pulled upwardly through the intersection of the deflector 64 and the pivoted arm 65. The arm 65 is thereby moved pivotally toward the vertical side 66 of the switch 56, pushing the button 60 momentarily. When the switch 56 is actuated by momentarily pushing the button 60, the solenoid operated, four-way valve 50 is in turn actuated. This valve controls the influx and efllux of compressed air through the pipes 54-54 to the air operated cylinder 42 which reciprocates the piston 44.

When the valve 50 is thus actuated by momentarily pushing the button 60 on the switch 56, the piston 44 shifts the sweep arm 26 so that the sheave 28 is transferred from its position overhanging the reel 16 to a position overhanging the reel 17. Then the wi -e19 begins to be taken from the reel 17, and such wire is advanced over the sheaves 2S and 38 and through the tube 49, as in the case of the wire 18. Meanwhile, the reel 16, being empty, is replaced with a full reel, and the leading end of the wire on the full reel is threaded through the switch actuator 62 and is welded to the trailing end of the wire 19 being taken from the reel 17.

Each time one of the reels becomes exhausted, the section 61 of wire is pulled upwardly through the intersection of the deflector 64 and the pivoted arm 65, thereby momentarily pushing the button 60 of the switch 56 to actuate the cylinder 42, which causes the sweep arm 26 to shift alternately from above one reel to above the other reel. Thus, the cycle of operations is repeated, shifting from one reel to the other without interrupting the supply of continuous wire being advanced through the tube 46 to the machine (not shown) in which the continuous wire is subjected to further processing, such as an electroplating operation.

By automatically shifting the sweep arm from one reel to the other in this fashion, the danger of having breaks and tangles in the wire being unreel ed is practically eliminated. If the cylinder 42, the valve 50 and the switch 56 were eliminated, and the shifting of the sweep arm 26 were accomplished solely by the tension of the wire as it leaves an exhausted reel and begins to extend directly from the sheave 28 to a full reel, the possibility of having considerable difliculty with tangles and breaks would arise. In such case, the wire would be subjected to a suddenly increased tension which might cause a break, or pull the wire off the sheave 28 thereby causing tangles. Furthermore, unless the sweep arm 26 were positively shifted and then held in its new position, this arm would be free to waver away from its position directly over the reel being unwound and thereby cause tangles.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to supplying steel wires to continuous electroplating apparatus, it is evident that the invention could be employed advantageously in other operations, for example in supplying wire drawing machines. In fact, the invention could be used in any operation in which a continuous wire, thread or filament is supplied uninterruptedly from a plurality of separate, unconnected reels. Such wire, thread or filament may be composed of linen, plastic, steel, copper or the like. In case steel is used, the magnetic arbors referred to herein would assist in preventing the occurrence of tangles. Obviously, an electric motor or some other suitable power driven means could be substituted for the pneumatic valve and piston disclosed for shifting the sweep arm alternately from one arbor to the other. Furthermore, when the wire is ob tained in the form of coils consisting of a plurality'ot convolutions of wire held together in units, the invention may be utilized with the same facility as in the case of the reels of wire referred to herein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for paying oif wire from reels wherein a wire extending between the arbors, the improvement which comprises a pivotally mounted arm suspended above the arbors and movable so that one end of the. arm may be swung from a position directly over one of the arbors to a position directly over the other arbor, a piston linked to the arm for alternately shifting said end of the arm from one of said positions to the other, a sheave mounted on the arm for guiding a wire being payed off from one of the coils, solenoid operated means for reciprocating the piston, and a switch located between the arbors and responsive to movement of the section of wire extending between the arbors at the moment a reel being unwound becomes exhausted for actuating the solenoid operated means.

2. In a device for paying off wire from reels wherein a pair of spaced, vertically-mounted arbors having parallel axes for supporting a pair of reels of wire are provided and the leading end of one of the wires on said reels is joined to the trailing end of the wire on the other reel to form a section of wire extending between the arbors, the improvement which comprises a vertical pedestal spaced equidistantly from the arbors, an arm having one end secured pivotally to the pedestal near the upper end of thepedestal and movable in a horizontal plane so that the free end of the arm may be swung arcuately from a position directly over one of the arbors to a position directly over the other arbor, a sheave mounted rotatably on the free end of the arm for guiding a Wire being payed oil from one of the coils, a fluid-actuated piston linked to the arm for alternately shifting the free end of the arm from one of the positions to the other, a solenoid-operated valve for directing a fluid to the piston and thereby controlling the reciprocation of the piston, and a switch for actuating the solenoid-operated valve, the switch being so located between the arbors as to be actuated by movement of the section of wire extending between the arbors at the moment a reel being unwound becomes exhausted whereby the free end of the arm is shifted to a position above the other reel.

3. In apparatus for paying ofi wire from reels wherein a pair of reels are spaced from one another and are connected by a section of wire that extends therebetween, the improvement which comprises an arm mounted pivotally above the reels and having means for guiding the wire being payed off from one of the reels, power-driven means for shifting the arm from a position over one reel to a position over the other reel, means for controlling the power-driven means, and switch means located between the reels for actuating the control means and responsive to movement of the section of wire extending between the reels at the movement a reel being unwound becomes exhausted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 986,020 Mills Mar. 7, 1911 1,578,488 Walker Mar. 30, 1926 1,966,532 Williams July 17, 1934 2,314,070 Bogoslowsky Mar. 16, 1943 2,335,082 Platz Nov. 23, 1943 2,424,021 Cook July 15, 1947 2,500,697 Metzler Mar. 14, 1950 2,586,906 Beckett et a1 Feb. 26, 1952 

